The Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group works to help people whose rights have been violated and investigates cases involving such abuse, as well as assessing the overall human rights situation in Ukraine. The Group also seeks to develop awareness of human rights issues through public events and its various publications

UNIAN reports, citing its own source, that the Shevchenkivsky District Court in Kyiv has adjourned until 8 December consideration of the application lodged by the Security Service [SBU] to have the imprisoned former Prime Minister and leader of the opposition Batkivshchyna party Yulia Tymoshenko remanded in custody.

On Wednesday the SBU posted notification on its website that largely copy-pasted that on the Prosecutor General’s site, including the extraordinary statement basically declaring Ms Tymoshenko guilty before any trial has taken place (““Taking into consideration that the crimes were committed by one person, on 8 December 2011 the Prosecutor General’s Office placed all the above-mentioned crimes under the jurisdiction of the Security Service investigators.”

The SBU go on to state that “In the course of investigating the above-mentioned criminal case, on 7 December the investigations from the SBU CID, having agreed this with the Prosecutor General’s Office, submitted an application to the Shevchenkivsky District Court in Kyiv to have the accused, Y. Tymoshenko remanded in custody as restraint measure.”

Judge Trubnikov from the said court had passed a decision to carry out the court hearing in situ, that being the Lukyanivsk SIZO [detention centre] where Ms Tymoshenko has been held in custody since early August.

She was sentenced by Judge Kireyev of the Pechersky District Court to 7 years imprisonment on 8 October. That sentence was unequivocally condemned by democratic countries. Statements about a new criminal investigation over alleged embezzlement of public funding through the company United Energy Systems of Ukraine, were made by politicians, the Prosecutor and the State-owned UTV1 within a day or two and the number of criminal cases initiated has been increasing steadily.